World
British counter-terrorism police stopped three suspicious white vans heading towards RAF Fairford, a military airfield in Gloucestershire, and arrested five men on suspicion of explosives and terrorism offences. A 400-metre cordon went up and residents of 85 homes were evacuated. All five, UK nationals in their twenties from London, were later released on police bail. Officers said a quantity of gasoline was recovered but no explosives were found, and they are examining whether a foreign state was involved. The base has been used by US bombers for strikes on Iranian missile sites.
Reuters / BBC
Politics
The White House released a third taxpayer-funded advertisement promoting President Donald Trump and his agenda ahead of November's midterm elections. Spending on the three spots is nearing at least $1.5 million in public money. The administration calls them public service announcements and says they are not campaign ads because Trump is not on the ballot and there is no call to action. Ethics experts point to decades-old appropriations language banning federal funds for publicity or propaganda within the United States, and one former White House ethics lawyer says the spending could be an impeachable offence.
AP / Fortune / The Hill
Business
The US Transportation Department released a final rule that resets corporate average fuel economy standards, with reporting putting the cut at roughly a third versus the Biden-era targets. Officials say the change will lower the upfront cost of a new vehicle by an average of $1,300 and give automakers more freedom over what they build. Congress had already removed penalties for missing the targets and the EPA had reversed the policy that justified regulating vehicle greenhouse gases. Environmental groups say the move will raise costs and hand clean technology to China. Analysts expect litigation rather than immediate change.
Reuters / CBS News / Detroit Free Press
Technology
Alibaba Group used its Apsara Conference in Hangzhou to unveil the Zhenwu V900, an AI processor built by its T-Head semiconductor unit. CEO Eddie Wu said it delivers three times the performance of the M890 launched in May and can be clustered with up to 500,000 chips. Mass production is planned for the first quarter of 2027. Future Qwen models could hold 5 to 10 trillion parameters, up from 2.4 trillion in the current flagship. Alibaba also targets more than 20 gigawatts of global data centre capacity by 2032. Shares rose 5.1%.
Reuters / Mint / Alibaba Group
Science
SpaceX flew Starship's 14th test flight and, for the first time, performed an orbital insertion burn. The upper stage carried 26 Starlink V3 satellites and released them in space. The mission aimed for about six orbits at roughly 275 km before a deorbit burn with a single Raptor engine and a controlled splashdown in the Pacific west of Chile. Reports say the flight hit an engine failure and was cut short. The Super Heavy booster was ditched in the Gulf of Mexico. Earlier flights deliberately flew below orbital velocity.
Reuters / BBC / The Register
Sports
Indiana Fever trail the Las Vegas Aces 1-0 in their best-of-three first-round WNBA series and faced elimination in Game 2 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Aces won the opener 102-85, shooting 59.4% and scoring 28 points off 17 Indiana turnovers. Caitlin Clark was listed as probable with a back issue and Aliyah Boston probable with a lower-leg problem. Top-seeded Minnesota also faced elimination against New York. Golden State leads Dallas 1-0. A Fever win forces a deciding Game 3 in Las Vegas on Thursday.
CBS Sports / iHeart / FOX Sports
Health
Researchers at the University of Southern Denmark reexamined all eight major randomised mammography trials, adjusting for differences between trial arms in follow-up time, screening frequency and screening that continued after a trial ended. Earlier estimates of overdiagnosis had ranged from 1% to more than 50%, with critics often citing 30% to 50%. After the adjustments, the results point to an overdiagnosis rate below 5%. The analysis was published in JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Overdiagnosis means finding a cancer that would never have caused symptoms.
ScienceDaily / Medical Xpress / JNCI
Environment
El Nino conditions have strengthened in the central Pacific. Weekly relative Oceanic Nino Index values reached 2C on 14 September, meeting the threshold for a very strong event, and daily sea surface temperature anomalies in the Nino 3.4 region hit 3C on 15 September, only the second time since records began in 1950. NOAA puts the chance of historic strength between October and December at about 75%. The event is cited as the main driver of a below-average Atlantic hurricane season forecast, and it makes a record hot year likely.
NOAA / Fox Weather / CNN